Achievement: Moved Cross Country!

I’ve been trying to keep my social media updated so everyone knows I’m not dead, but I haven’t had much time for it to be honest. This is probably not a big surprise.

Nash and I both did the best we could to plan things out, and I had a lot of help and support from family and friends…but moving is still a big, complicated, tiring mission chain. Combine that with the thoughts and feelings involved when moving away from my offline friends and family and it’s been quite a week.

We just finished getting everything moved into the house, returned the Uhaul, and set up my desk and computer last night. Today has been pretty much the first day in a week – if not a month – that I feel settled enough to start gathering my thoughts. So here we go with a quick update:

I had a couple days off work to finish packing up my stuff before we actually had to leave. I was originally unsure about taking extra time off, but I’m glad I did. Technically I had a lot of time to pack once I set the date…but trying to do that while also working full time and staying sane was not a lot of fun. We eventually got it all done (with only one box left unlabeled, I’ll add!) but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scrambling a bit by the end.

A few of my friends were surprised Nash and I planned on going to a wedding the night before we picked up the truck to load it up, but I’m so happy we could make it there. Lewis and Viga are awesome, funny, and very kind people that I wish I’d had more time to get to know before I moved out of Minnesota. The wedding was beautiful and clever; I only wish we could have stayed longer.

It can be tough to go to a gathering of people you don’t know that well (or at all, at least personally) but Past Stressed Me is also super appreciative that everyone I ran into was so awesome to chat with. Even in the midst of my own stuff, I’m looking forward to hopefully seeing more of everyone at cons. 🙂

Back to the move, I’m pretty sure the day we loaded the truck was the single most stressful one for me. I was trying so hard to get everything done, not put too much on anyone helping, and not leave behind a mess.

We got it all done with some help from a dear friend of mine but it was not a Good Day for me. I overloaded, honestly, and if I could change one thing it’d be to let people help more and put less on myself. BUT I was doing the best I could and that’s really all anyone can do.

The first two days driving were upwards of 8 hours each, including stops. It was overcast and rainy and coldish and bleh. Loki is good in the car in some ways, but kinda terrible in others. He likes car rides and doesn’t get car sick, but he DOES start whining and occasionally sharing piercing barks right in my ear after a while. The second day I swear I also ran into Every Issue – road construction, delays for accidents, my Google Maps app decided to crash and refuse to load again while I was in the middle of a 6-lane highway…

I legitimately like some parts of interstate travel, mostly the parts on long, quiet roads without much traffic. I like flipping through radio stations to see what’s playing and poking around at scenic rest stops. I love when Loki isn’t whining and instead is being Super Excite About Being On An Adventure! 8 hours is still a long damn time to be driving, and of course a lot of it is NOT spent all chill and relaxed.

Nash is awesome and found us some lovely hotel rooms, but that was something else new for Loki. The first night he had the worst time trying to settle down and kept starting to bark to let us know People! Are Outside The Door! (He also woke up us up FAR too early the next morning to inform us of the same thing. Repeatedly.) I can’t blame the poor thing, he’d never been in a hotel before and had no idea what was happening. Thankfully, the second night he was calmer. We’re also lucky he decided to be fine riding the elevator (he especially liked the part where he sniffed the doors and then they opened).

Got to see Allison briefly on the first night, too. Unfortunately I was stressed and exhausted, and Loki was confused and anxious, but I’m glad she could come by for a while at least. 🙂

The third day driving was honestly pretty great in spite of being exhausted and sick of the car. It was the first clear day, for one. And for two I got to drive through the Great Smoky Mountains while all the trees were in fall colors. It was absolutely gorgeous – enough to make me glad for possibly the first time to be driving out here instead of flying.

It probably also helped that the last day was only about 6 hours of actual driving, though it (of course) took longer.

Nothing is easy though, I got stuck in traffic for a while about 5 minutes away from the house. >_< Certainly not the worst thing in the world, but after 3 days of driving, being stuck so close?

Once we got here, Loki and Grady started getting along much faster than Nash and I expected. 🙂 Grady’s been complainy and cautious, but he came out from under the bed within maybe an hour? Nash and I both expected it to at least take a few days, but the pets have surprised us. As I’m writing this, Grady’s still getting more comfortable and seems fine with Loki in the room. He also still seems fine with me, so I’m calling that part a win all over.

Loki is kind of confused by the fenced yard, but the more he gets used to it, the better he seems to like it. He started off not wanting to explore anywhere unless one of us was with him, but now he seems much more willing to sniff around on his own. He definitely likes having space to run around without being leashed.

We were going to dig into the unpacking and organizing today, but we’re both pretty thoroughly wiped out. We ran some errands but I think most of the rest is waiting until tomorrow. I’ve still got a couple days before I’m back to work and I’m betting we can get the important things organized by then.

Having everything at least in the house, and my desk and computer set up, has helped my own stress levels a lot. I’m still kinda anxious about the new job (well, new store rather) – mostly because I’m so terribly out of practice driving in a bigger city. I was fine when I lived in St. Paul, but that was years ago. By now, it tends to get my anxiety going, which is not particularly helpful. I know I’ll get used to it, I’m just not looking forward to the time between now and then. I’m hoping I feel better about that, too, as my general stress and anxiety levels calm down post-move.

Other than the weird driving anxiety (and still being fairly exhausted and sore), I’m doing pretty damn well. Nash and I have been long distance to one degree or another since we met; being *here* is just about the best thing ever. 🙂

I’m not sure how coherent this blog was, but I’ve wanted to put up something as soon as I recovered a bit. Once things are more settled, I’m planning to get back to finishing my Secret World Legends stream for Extra Life. I’m hoping to get back to streaming (and blogging on topics other than moving) in general, really.